Berin Loritsch wrote: > If the party deemed the guilty party still refuses to repent > when the church is involved, then they are to be treated > like a sinner and a publican (tax collector--the lowest of > lows in that country).
Berin, since the closest thing to a church we have is the board, and since that treatment sounds like suspension, I'd like to offer just a small clarification of what that treatment means: Luke 18:9-14: http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?passage=Luke+18%3A9-14&NIV_version=yes&language=english --- The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." ---- How can this be interpreted? I would interpret it this way: Even for sinners and tax collectors, the doors to the church remain open, but the church has done all it can and the onus is now on the sinner to reform before he can enter. /LS -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For additional commands, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
